Thursday, 31 May 2012

The journey began in 2000 with the birth
of the LLAS Centre (then Subject Centre) as part of the Learning and Teaching
Support Network with an explicit mission to support and promote teaching within
UK Higher Education. In 2000 we were invited to attend the dissemination
conference for the 10 projects developed under the Fund for Development of
Teaching and Learning (FDTL). From there came the idea to run a biennial conference
with UCML, AULC, CILT and SCHML.Over
the years, this conference has become a significant and regular feature of the
language conference landscape opening up a space for colleagues for whom
teaching is a core or specialist activity and for whom research is a minor or
emerging activity.

Over the years, themes have ranged from technology-enhanced
learning, to residence abroad, to teacher training. Topics covered are as
familiar as translation-teaching, intercultural communication and assessment,
and as wide-ranging as laughter, climate-change and apprenticeships in language
learning. The conference has also engaged with the sticky issue of
employability: every year it will include contributions from employers and has,
on a number of occasions, heard from recent language graduates who have made
very successful transitions to employment.

Over the years the conference has
reflected and discussed the changing fortunes of language teaching in Higher
Education and it has weathered the storm of funding changes all due in no small
part to everyone who has been involved over the years in organising and
supporting the event. Core to this has been the continuing collaboration with
UCML, AULC, the Higher Education Academy and the earlier support of CILT and
ALL. But its most loyal and valuable partners are the conference participants,
some of whom return year after year and more of whom are now travelling in from
across the globe. Keeping the languages community connected is really what the
conference is all about and as it heads towards the 2012 conference on 6 and 7 July
in Edinburgh it promises to be a lively event which will carry on the tradition
of stimulating conversation and debate in languages, whatever the future may
bring.

Conference timeline:

2002
Setting the agenda: Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies in Higher Education
(Manchester)

2004
Languages, linguistics and area studies conference- navigating the new landscape for languages
(London)

Tuesday, 22 May 2012

Scotland needs a radical change of approach to modern languages in schools, Minister for Learning Alasdair Allan has said.
Responding to recommendations made by the Modern Languages Working
Group, Dr Allan announced that the Scottish Government will now explore
opportunities for all young people to start learning a second language
from P1.
The report’s other key recommendations include advice
that learning a third language should start no later than P5 and that
primary and secondary schools should work more closely together to
ensure better progression in language learning.

Sunday, 20 May 2012

Schools should keep detailed records of the languages spoken by ethnic minority pupils, according to a report.

Researchers from London Metropolitan University say simply to
record pupils' ethnicity is too imprecise a measure as Britain becomes
more diverse.
The study is the first analysis of the achievements of
linguistic minorities in English schools. The government said it was
developing new ethnicity standards that would help schools collect
detailed information.BBC news

Friday, 4 May 2012

There should be more opportunities for people to learn Irish in Northern Ireland, according to a new survey.

The survey was carried out by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure.

Fifty-three per cent agreed that there should be more options available, 20% disagreed and 26% neither agreed nor disagreed.
Eighty-one per cent of respondents believed pupils should be able to choose it as a school subject if they wish.
Eight per cent disagreed and 10% neither agreed nor disagreed.

Tuesday, 1 May 2012

To judge a risk more clearly, it may help to consider it in a foreign language.

A series of experiments on more than 300 people from the U.S. and
Korea found that thinking in a second language reduced deep-seated,
misleading biases that unduly influence how risks and benefits are
perceived.

As the number of applicants to modern languages degree
programmes is causing some concern, the question is inevitably asked, ‘is it
the cost of a four year degree programme which is discouraging applicants?’

Most of us are convinced of the immense value of the year
abroad, so too are employers and students who return from to university after
what many of them describe as ‘the best year of my life’. Indeed students at the University of
Edinburgh have established an award winning student society , Exchange 360 (http://exchange360.org/) to help them keep their memories of the year
abroad alive, to encourage and support those planning a year overseas and to
befriend international students studying in Edinburgh.

The British Academy, working in partnership with the
University Council of Modern Languages (UCML) and Thirdyearabroad.com, has
recently funded a project to gather evidence on the value of the year
abroad. A call for short case studies from
graduates who had spent time abroad during their undergraduate studies elicited
600 responses ‘illustrating the academic, cultural, intercultural, linguistic,
personal and professional benefits derived from the year abroad’. To read these, go to http://www.thirdyearabroad.com/graduates.html
A position statement , Valuing the Year
Abroad, has also been produced ( http://www.britac.ac.uk) articulating these benefits and proposing
recommendations to government, to universities, to employers and to
students. In the position statement, the
Government is urged to ‘minimise financial disincentives for the small but currently
growing number of students who wish to undertake a year abroad’. We are still awaiting the Government’s
response.

LLAS is organising a workshop on the year abroad to explore
these issues further. Working with colleagues in Scotland, the workshop will
look at how we can effectively articulate the value of residence abroad to
students, parents and university managers as well as exploring how we can
maximise the benefits of the year abroad experience for students. The event is being held on 23 May 2012 at
Strathclyde University. To register, go to http://www.llas.ac.uk/events/6547.